It's been a few years since I've posted but I'm still reading
regularly here on hockey-l.  I posted many a box score and game
summary from the years of Union's Division I existence when wins were
rare.

I continue to be amazed at the strides the program has taken over the
last several seasons.  Pretty much every season recently they have
taken things one step further than ever before, culminating in this
year's Cleary Cup, Whitelaw Cup, and National Championship winning
team.  (Not to mention a perfect record against the Ivies and knocking
off 3 straight Hockey East teams then mighty Minnesota in the
tournament, wow.)  I always thought (some said foolishly hoped) that
the day would come when Union would be competitive in the ECAC on a
more or less regular basis, and maybe even make the occasional NCAA
appearance.  A Frozen Four appearance seemed impossible to me until I
watched them celebrate in Bridgeport a couple years ago, then sat
there in Tampa and watched them take the ice.  A National Championship
still seems impossible, even after having seen the clinching
empty-netter and celebration that followed in Philadelphia a few days
ago.  I'll see if it feels more real when I watch the championship
parade through Schenectady tomorrow.  Or see the unveiling of all of
these new banners at Messa Rink in October.

The games last weekend, as so many have pointed out, were stellar.
It's the best Frozen Four I've seen, and I think I'd have said that
even if my team wasn't there or didn't win.  It was one of the best
college hockey atmospheres I've experienced and we all know about the
high level of play and the unbelieveable back and forth on the ice and
on the scoreboard.  Other than Gostisbehere's +7 in the championship,
maybe the most amazing stat I've seen is Rick Bennett's 19-2 record in
the postseason.

For me, the whole thing is traced back to the day in September 1988,
when Shayne White, a freshman goalie at Union, sat next to me in my CS
1 class and convinced me to come out to see the Division III team's
season opening game against RPI, just a few years removed from a
national championship of their own.  Union pulled off the huge upset,
winning 4-3 on an OT goal by freshman Tim Cregan, and I was hooked.
I've missed only a few home games each season since that night, and
made up for those by attending a good number of road and neutral site
games.  There were a lot of ups and downs over those seasons.  I think
having seen pretty much all of the "firsts" for the program and
enduring those long tough times in between have made watching them get
that ultimate "first" in Philadelphia even more special.  It was so
great to look around the Union section during the extended post game
celebration and see many, many of the others who have been there for
decades supporting this program.  They players didn't want to leave
the ice and we didn't want to leave Section 116.  I thought that
cutting up one of the nets was a great idea - something I've never
seen before.  I know the whole thing was special for everyone
involved, but I like to think it was a little sweeter for those of us
who were there for the long haul, not just the recent winning years.
Those who can recall names and plays from seasons gone by and who
understand just how rare a treat it is to see a team you follow for a
long time win it all.  Those who understand that it's still going to
be possible for Union to have successful and enjoyable seasons when
there might be a trophy or a title they don't win or (gasp) they don't
win any at all.  No matter what, I know we'll be talking about this
year's team in the stands at Messa as long as any of us are still
going to the games.

On a side note, a recent post here (which I mistakenly deleted)
suggested that Roger Hull was Union's president during the Harkness
scandal, but that's not true.  Hull didn't become president at Union
until 1990.  But I think with that mention, I should point out that
Union's win on Saturday gave them a winning percentage of .810 on the
season, just a little better than twice the infamous "40%" that Hull
thought was just about the right percentage of games to win.  We've
come a long way!

--
Jim Teresco - [log in to unmask]
http://www.teresco.org